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Warriors Flaming Legacies: Blazing Inferno
Hello everyone, FireClan here. With much delay due to my EXTREME laziness, Book Three of Flaming Legacies is here! I don't know why, but when I get on the Wiki, I just think "Man, think of all the other stuff on the internet I could be doing right now." So yeah, sorry about the lack of content, but HERE'S THE BLURB! The Blurb In the Third Installment of Warriors Flaming Legacies, another several moons of peace has fallen upon Toadleap and his clan, but the hunt for the murderer is still on. Toadleap's life's alright though, he's a mentor now, has become closer to getting his nine lives, and even has the chance of getting a mate in the form of Gingerstep. But something still isn't right on the island. Grayspeck's death still lingers through the minds of many, and might drive one of the clanmates to insanity. Toadleap tries desperately to get answers, and he may get one. But when he recieves it, It'll shake the forest to the core. Allegiances Cats of the Clans Leaders Toadleap- Dark Brown Tabby Tom with Green Eyes, FireClan Leader Smokestrike- Black Tom with Amber Eyes, ThunderClan Leader Aquaeyes- Long-Furred Cream She-Cat with Blue Eyes, ShadowClan Leader Burstblaze- Ginger Tom with Brown Eyes, RiverClan Leader Robinwillow- Gray She-Cat with Amber Eyes, WindClan Leader Deputies Titanheart- Pale Tom with Black Stripes, FireClan Deputy Stormwhisker- Blue-Gray Tom with Amber Eyes, ThunderClan Deputy Silentclaw- Huge Long-Furred White Tom with Gray and Black Stripes and Blue Eyes, ShadowClan Deputy Mudsurf- Brown Tom with Blue Eyes, RiverClan Deputy Eagleclaw- Mottled Brown Tom with a White Belly and Yellow Eyes, WindClan Deputy Medicine Cats Tawnysoul- Tawny Tabby Tom with Blue Eyes, FireClan Medicine Cat Starfall- White She-Cat with Green Eyes, ThunderClan Medicne Cat Rockshine- Dark Gray Tom with Blue Eyes, ShadowClan Medicine Cat Leafface- Mottled Brown Tom with Green Eyes, RiverClan Medicine Cat Pumpkinpelt- Ginger She-Cat with Green Eyes, WindClan Medicine Cat Warriors Whitewind- White Tom with Yellow Eyes Firebird- White Tom with Ginger Spots and Green Eyes Hammerclaw- Dark Brown Tabby Tom with Amber Eyes Snowfall- White Tom with Blue Eyes Olivefur- Brown Tom with Black and White Spots and Brown Eyes Heavypelt- Plump Gray Tom with a White Muzzle and Yellow Eyes Gingerstep- Ginger She-Cat with Green Eyes Fishleap- Mottled Brown Tom with Amber Eyes Darkwhisker- Black Tom with Green Eyes Lightningstreak- Bright Ginger Tom with Darker Stripes and Green Eyes Moonstripe- Silver Tabby She-Cat with Blue Eyes Ivoryfang- Murky White Tom with Amber Eyes Flintclaw- Slender Black Tom with Green Eyes and a White Muzzle Fallenleaf- Ginger Tom with White Patches and Green Eyes Longleg- Pale Tabby Tom with Long Legs and Green Eyes Rushfoot- Lithe Brown She-Cat with Stubby Legs and Blue Eyes Jaystorm- Pale Ginger and White Tabby Tom with Green Eyes Sparrowblaze- Dark Ginger Tom with Green Eyes Mallowclaw- Brown and Black Tabby Tom with Pale Blue Eyes Bluewillow- Black She-Cat with Blue Eyes Fogface- Pale Gray Tabby She-Cat with Blue Eyes Rowanwhisker- Ginger Tom with a White Belly and Green Eyes Carpheart- Mottled Brown Tom with Blue Eyes Antpelt- Reddish-Brown Tom with Green Eyes Tigerstorm- Dark Brown Tabby She-Cat with Amber Eyes Elmfall- Dark Brown Tabby Tom with Amber Eyes Blizzardpelt- White She-Cat with Gray Flecks and Ice-Blue Eyes Featherdust- Pale Gray She-Cat with Amber Eyes Petalstorm- Dark Cream She-Cat with Green Eyes Splinterclaw- Brown Tom with Darker Flecks and Green Eyes Hickoryheart- Tortoiseshell and White She-Cat with Blue Eyes Smokepool- Dark Gray She-Cat with Amber Eyes Sootear- Jet-Black Tom with Blue Eyes and a Torn Ear Rainheart- Blue-Gray She-Cat with Blue Eyes Turboblaze- Golden Tabby Tom with Amber Eyes Cloudstorm- Pale Gray and White Tom with Blue Eyes Chesnutpelt- Pale Brown She-Cat with Black Splotches and Green Eyes Shrewfur- Reddish-Brown Tabby Tom with Yellow Eyes Brackenfoot- Golden-Brown Tom with a Single Black Foot and Green Eyes Diamondstream- Silvery-Gray She-Cat with Very Pale Blue Eyes Batnose- Small Dark Gray She-Cat with Yellow Eyes Wolfsong- Pale Black Tom with a Shaggy Pelt and Amber Eyes Inkfoot- White She-Cat with a Single Black Foot and Amber Eyes Fawnstep- Dark Ginger She-Cat with Blue Eyes Volewhisker- Small Brown Tom with Green Eyes Addertail- White Tom with Large Black Stripes and Amber Eyes Tangledwhisker- Long-Furred Gray She-Cat with Crooked Whiskers and Blue Eyes Heatscar- Large Ginger Tom with Scratches Across his Amber Eyes Dappledleaf- Tortoiseshell and White She-Cat with Green Eyes Bronzepelt- Tortoiseshell Tom with Amber Eyes Salmonsplash- Dark Brown Tabby Tom with Blue Eyes Sparkpelt- Golden She-Cat with Darker Flecks and Amber Eyes Rabbitskip- Pale Brown Tom with Dark Blue Eyes Rookfeather- Dark Blue-Gray Tom with Brown Eyes Dewstorm- Pale Gray Tom with Blue Eyes Woodclaw- Brown Tom with Amber Eyes Venomstrike- Dark Gray Tabby Tom with Blue Eyes Gearstrike- Silvery-Gray Tom with Amber Eyes Breezerunner- Pale Gray Tom with Blue Eyes Thrushfeather- Dark Ginger Tom with a White Chest and Green Eyes Hawkthorn- Pale Brown Tabby Tom with a White Muzzle and Ice-Blue Eyes Rubytail- Tortoiseshell She-Cat with a Ginger Tail and Green Eyes Lionstreak- Golden Tabby Tom with Amber Eyes Shadowstrike- Black Tom with Green Eyes Sunnyleaf- Dappled Golden She-Cat with Blue Eyes Littlefoot- Small White Tom with Black Ears, a Single Black Foot, and Red Eyes Bugstrike- Black Tom with White Spots and Amber Eyes Lilywhisker- Bright Ginger She-Cat with White Paws and Green Eyes Mossfeather- Dark Gray Tabby Tom with Green Eyes Gophertooth- Pale Gray Tom with a White Belly and Brown Eyes Thistlebelly- Gray Tom with Amber Eyes Icesong- Pale Gray She-Cat with Green Eyes Ravenstorm- Small Black Tom with Amber Eyes Skystrike- Black Tom with Ice-Blue Eyes Bramblefoot- Dark Brown Tabby She-Cat with Green Eyes Redpoppy- Lithe Ginger She-Cat with Green Eyes Spiderstorm- Black She-Cat with Amber Eyes Crowflight- Dark Gray (Almost Black) Tom with Blue Eyes Wrennose- Dark Brown Tom with Blue Eyes Slugheart- Long-Furred Gray She-Cat with Darker Flecks and Blue Eyes Rocketblaze- Ginger Tom with Green Eyes Branchtail- Pale Brown Tabby Tom with Amber Eyes Mantisclaw-Black She-Cat with Amber Eyes Queens Emeraldgaze- Dark Brown Tabby She-Cat with Green Eyes, Mother of Mossfeather's Kits Apprentices Honeypaw- Golden She-Cat with Amber Eyes, Lionstreak's Apprentice Winterpaw- White Tom with Blue Eyes, Shadowstrike's Apprentice Soaringpaw- Pale Ginger She-Cat with Green Eyes, Hawkthorn's Apprentice Burningpaw- Ginger Tom with Vibrant Green Eyes, Splinterclaw's Apprentice Splashpaw- Dark Brown Tabby Tom with Blue Eyes, Dewstorm's Apprentice Kits Frogkit- Dark Brown Tom with a Striped Tail and Green Eyes, Son of Emeraldgaze and Mossfeather Lichenkit- Pale Gray Tabby Tom with Green Eyes, Son of Emeraldgaze and Mossfeather Sliverkit- Pale Gray Tabby Tom with Darker Flecks and Amber Eyes, Son of Emeraldgaze and Mossfeather Cats Outside of Clans "Red" - Dark Red Tom with a White Chest and Amber Eyes, Classificaton Unknown Dagger- Dark Brown Tom with Green Eyes Cliff- Long-Furred Dark Brown and White Tabby Tom with Blue Eyes, A Kit-Loner Streak- Small Dark Brown and White Tabby Tom with Sickly Green Eyes, A Kit-Loner Pip- Cream Tabby Tom with Amber Eyes, A Kit-Loner Macie- White She-Cat with Cream Spots and Amber Eyes, A Kit-Loner Prologue "Order! I must call order! Everybody quiet!" The yowl came from a large golden tom sitting in front of a small pool. The other four cats, also sitting around the pool, kept quiet and sat up straight. "Thank you. I'm sorry for raising my voice, but you all knowthis meeting's topic is more serious than most others." "Yeah we know. It's that kid again isn't it?" "Afraid so, Blackstar. I'm sure you all know what her problem is by know. If not, she's being trained by the Dark Forest." "Poor, poor Spiderpaw." A brown tom whimpered. "Those foul creatures are gonna turn her bad." "We don't know that, Onestar. Toadleap's a good mentor to her and his characteristics are surely rubbing off on her." "Yeah but Breezestar's an even better mentor to her and his characteristics could rub off on her! I say we just give it to her straight. No more extra training." said Onestar. "We couldn't just do that. It wouldn't work!" said a blue-gray she-cat. "Beetlewhisker tried it years ago and was killed trying to escape! But I suppose there's no other way, no cat's been able to control their visits to the Dark Forest." The StarClan cats thought for a moment. Thunderstar and the other leaders were drawing a blank. They were thinking of the start of another war. When Thunderstar got an idea. "I've hit a lightbulb everyone!" "What's a lightbulb?" "I dunno, but here's the plan." Thunderstar faced a ginger tom. "Firestar, we need to find Ivypool, her or Crookedstar." "Why them?" said Firestar. "Think, they're the only two cats to have sucessfully revolted against the Dark Forest. Ivypool helped start the battle with the clans, and Crookedstar fought Mapleshade." "How do you know that?" said Mistystar. "You didn't even exist when that happened. You weren't even thought up by an 11-year old hispanic/white kid at that point." "What? Anyway, we get Ivypool or Crookedstar to talk to Spiderpaw to educate her a bit. If that doesn't work, they speak to Toadleap. Meeting adjourned." Chapter One "It is with great honor that I give you the name Spiderstorm. StarClan honors your courage and hopes your life as a warrior is long and rewarding." Toadleap rested his muzzle on Spiderstorm's shoulder. For the first time in a while, Spiderstorm actually looked happy. For the past few days, she seemed angrier, she refused to speak to anyone not even Rocketblaze or Robinwillow. But the black she-cat was smiling. "Thank you, Toadleap." The she-cat padded away. Toadleap was dismayed to see a frown had grown on her face again, even while her family congratulated her. "I couldn't be prouder of you four!" Toadleap overheard Eagleclaw saying to Spiderstorm, Crowflight, Wrennose and Slugheart. "It overjoys me to see my children become warriors." "Yeah, whatever." grumbled Spiderstorm. Toadleap was happy to see Robinwllow's other three kits celebrating. Crowflight and Slugheart were chatting it up with Branchtail and Splinterclaw, while Wrennose was enjoying being cuddled by Soaringpaw and Dappledleaf. The was a distict sadness in his eyes as he reminded Soaringpaw that she had another moon of her apprenticeship. He seemed much more attached to Soaringpaw than Dappledleaf, but there was still pleasure in his gaze as the tortoiseshell she-cat caressed his back with her tail. "Um... I'm not so sure I'm okay with that," It was odd, seeing as Dappledleaf was much older than Wrennose, but Toadleap decided not to spoil the young warrior's fun. "H-Hey Toadleap." Toadleap giggling was interrupted by Firebird,who had signaled him with a tap on the shoulder. Toadleap couldn't help but notice the white tom was quivering like an insane person. In fact, he seemed to not stop shaking at all, for days even. "Oh, hello there Firebird. What's up." "Um... M-M-Mind if I take a few days off? I'm not feeling like myself. B-But if you need m-m-me to go on patrol I can do it." "No, it's fine. You go and rest for a couple days. You might as well go see Starfall. You seem a bit more... timid than usual. Yesterday you were spooked by your own shadow. And don't even get me started on when you saw that gopher." "Heh, heh, yeah. I really wouldn't stop screaming. I can't believe it took me 10 minutes and a slap in the muzzle from Shrewfur to get me to stop. But I don't going to see Starfall will be needed." "Really? Then why do you need a vacation?" "I'm just... really stressed." Firebird's expression changed drastically. "It's just really hard to get it off of my chest." "Yeah, I know you have a little secret, but I don't know what it is. Remember, I'm your leader for the time being. You can tell me anything." "I'm s-sorry Toadleap, but I would much rather keep it on my chest, however hard it is." "Um... okay. I respect your privacy, but if you do need to talk it out, my den is always open." "Yeah, th-th-thanks Toadleap. I'm gonna go... go and get some sleep. Later." As Firebird slowly wandered away into the large bush that was the warrior's den, Toadleap couldn't help but feel sorry for the shaky white tom. His secret, whatever it was, was obviously eating away at his sanity and stressing him out. In fact, the thought of it stressed him out as well. He figured a walk could help calm his nerves. "Um... Hey Gingerstep!" Toadleap called to the ginger tabby she-cat, who was currently sitting at the foot of the fresh-kill pile with Blizzardpelt and Petalstorm, a couple of her friends. "Oh, Hi Toadleap. What's up?" "Erm... I was just, uh... wondering if you wanted to, y'know, go for a walk?" Blizzardpelt and Petalstorm blushed and giggled as Gingerstep fumbled for a moment. Toadleap was afraid she would say no, but was happy to hear that she politely accepted. The other two she-cats made a low 'ooooooooo' sound as they Toadleap padded away, "Thanks for joining me, Gingerstep. Let's go." Chapter Two "We're traveling through the Twolegplace?" Gingerstep asked. "Yeah, I like the Twolegplace sometimes. It's just so nostalgic walking along these old fences. Plus, I'd like to check up on my old twolegs' house, maybe they have a new cat." "Toadleap, you aren't going soft on us are you?" "What? No! It's just kinda neat to see the Twolegplace after such a long time." "Alright. It must just only be you though, I'd much rather not go back to sleeping in a dump." "Your old place was dirty?" "No, it was literally a dump. Very uncomfortable." Toadleap laughed. It felt so good just to make conversation with Gingerstep. The fact that they were becoming closer friends possibly gave him the better chance of maybe becoming her mate. "So, um... How's your life going?" Toadlep decided to start-up more conversation. "Oh, it's alright. In fact, There's a special someone in the clan that I might want to have something with." Toadleap blushed. His eyes grew wider and and he could feel heat well under his fur. "Um... Well I Uz Um..." Toadleap realized he was babbling like a lovestruck idiot. "Well uh... If you don't mind me asking, who could this someone be?" Gingerstep looked around, as if to see if anyone was watching. "Okay. Just promise not to tell anyone." Toadleap sat up straight and cleared his throat. "I, Toadleap of FireClan, hereby promise." "Oh shut up, furball." Gingerstep giggled. "Come closer." Toadleap put his ear right up to Gingerstep's muzzle, awaiting the secret. He felt as if he could explode with excitement. "Heatscar." Gingerstep whispered. "H-Heatscar?" Toadleap's heart sank. "Why not? He's a strong, noble warrior. And those battle scars! They make a she-cat purr no doubt!" "Heatscar? Seriously, Heatscar. You honestly like the big, ginger scratchbag?" "What's your problem? I can like whomever I want. Why do you even care? Me and you are only friends!" Toadleap paused. He had to fight back a sorrowful gasp. Gingerstep didn't like him? "Toadleap, we are only friends, right?" Toadleap's sorrow quickly turned to anger. "Yeah, only friends. Nothing more." He turned his back and stormed away down the alley. "And just where do you think you're going?" Gingerstep angrily called. "I'm finishing my stupid walk! I'll meet you back at camp!" "Halt, fiend!" A small voice squeaked from behing a trash can. Toadleap payed no attention to it as he was far too enraged to care. "Hey! Stop!" Toadleap was flung to the ground as two tiny shapes pounced on him.They all batted him with sheathed paws and dull fangs. Toadleap flung each of them off with ease. He was preparing to fight back when he noticed something aout the attackers. "Kits!" Chapter Three "Halt intruders!" One of the the kits squeaked. "You are tresspassing on CliffClan territory! Leave now or prepare yourselves for a flurry of attacks!" "Oh, you terrify me, shorty. I'm sure your fluffy cream pelt has been stained with scars and blood. Come on, Gingerstep. Let's leave these kids alone." "You stop right there, or we'll report you to the big red guy!" Toadleap froze at the mention of 'red'. He raced over to the little cream-colored tom. "Hold on, y-you said 'red' right? Like a red cat, a tom?" "Yeah," said a white she-cat next to the tom "he's big and red and has big shiny eyes! He taught us how to play clan cat!" "Shut up, sis! You're telling these cats too much! They don't need to know about the red guy!" Toadleap shoved his muzzle right in front of the kit's. "Can you take me to this 'red guy'?" "I dunno, what's in it for us?" Gingerstep stepped forward, bearing a sinister look on her face. "Tell us where this cat is, and we WONT eat you. Maybe." The two kits flinched. Toadleap could tell what Gingerstep ws getting at, and decided to join in. "Oh come now, Gingerstep. We don't mean to scare the kits. Of course we'll eat them." "Okay! Okay! We'll take you to him, just please don't eat us, mister!" The cream tom was clearly about to wet himself so Toadleap found it best to settle down, and the the kits lead. "So what are your names?" Gingerstep asked the question as the kits lead her and Toadleap down several alleyways. "I'm Pip," said the tom. "and my sister's name is Macie. We live in CliffClan's camp with our leader Cliff and his brother Streak." "Your leader named his clan after himself?" Toadleap retorted. "Pfft, how original." "Well, we're here!" Macie halted at a small trashy clearing in the alleyway. It looked much like Dagger's old place of living, but somehow even dirtier. "Hellooooooo? Red guy? You hooooome?" Pip shouted into several piles of old boxes and garbage bags. "That's odd, he's usually home at this time. He only goes out at night." Toadleap looked to Gingerstep. "I wonder what he does." He said sarcastically. "Y'know, we could take you to our camp if you'd like, take a load off and stuff." "Meh," Toadleap said to Pip. "Why not. I did come out for a walk after all." It took several minutes, but finally Pip brought Toadleap to CliffClan's camp. Needless to say it looked 'luxurious'. Their den were lined with old napkins and pillow stuffing. In the middle of the camp was a seemingly untouched bag of trash where a dark brown kit sat. At the foot of the bag sat another kit, also dark brown, but sniffling and sneezing. "Pip! You've brought outsiders into our camp! They will destroy us!" yelled the kit the top of the pile. "It's fine, Cliff. These cats are allies! They're clan cats even! This is Gingerstep and Toadleap." "Toadleap? TOADLEAP!" Cliff raced over to Toadleap's paws and bowed to him. "Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh! It's actually you! Er, I mean..." Cliff quickly changed his expression back to smug and cool. "What a surprise, you're actually Toadleap." "Um... How do you know my name?" "When the red guy was first teaching us how to play clan cat, he mentioned you. Like a lot." Toadleap fest geniunely scared. Red knows my name? How much has he been spying on us? He thought. "But let's forget about that, shall we?" said Cliff. "How abut some fresh-kill?" "Yes please." moaned Toadleap. "I'm starved." "Sure, I'll get you some. Fresh from the log." "The log?" Cliff unsheathed his tiny claws as he padded overto a small chunk of wood standing upright clser to the garbage can. He stuck one of his ears right on the log and tapped it with his claw. He eventually stopped, stuck his paw into a whole in the log, and pulled out a big fat beetle. Toadleap cringed as it wriggled while it was hooked on Cliff's claw. Cliff tried to hand the beetle to Toadleap. "Um... No thanks." Toadleap politely said. "Suit yourselves." Cliff carried the beetle over to the cat sitting at the foot of the trash pile. Toadleap guessed this was Streak, who looked even worse up close. Small blobs of mucus welled under his eyes, which were constantly watering. While Toadleap felt sorry for the little kit, but couldn't help but nearly vomit as Streak crushed and ate the beetle Cliff had brought for him. "What's wrong with your brother?" Gingerstep asked Cliff. "He's been really sick lately. He must have eaten a bad beetle, but he just keeps getting worse. And with all the dogs and feral kittypets nearby it's so hard to find herbs to treat him." "Well you now," Toadleap said. "my medicine cat could surely find something to help him. But you'd need to come with me to my camp." "If it gets my brother un-sick, let's do it. Macie! Pip! We're leaving. Toadleap, could you help with Streak?" "Yeah sure." Toadleap and Gingerstep padded over to the sick little tom. "Hello, Streak. I hear you've been sick lately." Streak weakly looked up at Toadleap. "Uh-huh." He said with a hoase voice. Still squeaky however. "Well we're going to take you somewhere you can get better. Okay?" "Okay. J-Just, wow." "Are you alright, Streak?" asked Gingerstep. "Y-Yeah, I'm okay. Just a little... a little tired." Streak's torso landed to the ground and his eyes closed. It scared Toadleap how it landed with a small thump. Gingerstep put her ear onto Streak's chest. "Toadleap, he's not breathing!" "Great StarClan!" Toadleap picked up the unconscious kit by the scruff. "You three are going to need to keep up. We've no time to lose!" Chapter Four "Somebody get Tawnysoul! We've got a sick kit!" Toadleap could hardly feel his legs by the time he reached camp, but he didn't care. His main concern was Streak. He layed Streak, now conscious, on a moss bed in the medicine den. "Outta my way!" Cliff screeched while pushing a few other clan cats out of the way. "I need to see my brother!" "Sorry kid." said Tawnysoul. "I'm going to need all the space I need, but for now you can come in." The medicine cat looked toward Pip and Macie. "You two are going to need to stay out. Go the apprentice's den with Gingerstep and talk to the other cats for now. Toadleap, if you could help me out that woul be great." "Alright, I don't think I'd make a good medicine, but if it helps Streak. Come with me Cliff." Toadleap brought Cliff into the medicine den. Cliff wriggled his nose at the smell of all the herbs, as did Toadleap. He realized how much he hadn't been inside Tawnysoul's den since his ceremony. Tawnysoul sniffed Streak's limp mouth. "He's eaten something poisonous recently. Am I correct Cliff?" "Well... He ate something that looked yucky a few days ago. He's been sick ever since." "It must still be in his system. I need yarrow, it's the leaf that looks a bit like a feather. I should be next to the juniper berries." Toadleap sniffed around Tawnysoul's supplies until he found the leaves he described. Tawnysoul chewed them up into a pulp and pressed it into Streak's mouth. The kit responded by vomitting several times. "There. With any luck, he should vomit until he gets the toxins out of him." Toadleap sighed. He would have left Cliff and Tawnysoul to keep tndin to he sick kit, but Streak started to shake in his nest and foam at the mouth. "Great StarClan. Yarrow! I NEED MORE YARROW!" Tawnysoul raced over to his supplies and froze. "Toadleap, did you not notice that you crushed the berries next to the yarrow leaves?" "No, why? Juniper berry juice shouldn't hurt him." "That's because they weren't juniper berries! It was yew! Streak swallowed yarrow covered in deathberry juice! We need to get more yarrow into him!" Tawnysoul again chewed yarow into pulp and put it into Streak's mouth, but the kit couldn't swallow it and his breathing grew faster. "Come on, Streak!" screamed Cliff. "You gotta eat it!" Streak began to swallow, until he whimpered once and his neck fell limp. The chewed leaves dripped out of his open mouth. "No! No! No! You've gotta have something more for him!" "I'm sorry, Cliff. I've never discovered an herb for a dead cat's revival. He's gone." "No! I refuse to believe that! He's not really dead, is he Toadleap?" "I'm afraid so. Could you please go tell Pip and Macie, I need to speak with my medicine cat." As Cliff padded away toward the apprentice's den, Toadleap faced Tawnysoul. "Tawnysoul, would you mind explaining to me why there are DEATHBERRIES IN CAMP?" "When I visited the Mooncrystal last half-moon, Jayfeather told me they were used as a way to end a REALLY sick cat's suffering." "Then put them in the back of the store and NOT next to the useful herbs. I want you off of medicine cat duties for a few days. Streak's death is on your paws." "Remember, Toadleap, had you not crushed the deathberries, he would have probably lived." Toadleap fled to his den under the Great Oak and buried his face in the moss after he had heard this. Tawnysoul was right, he had partially caused Streak's death. Toadleap lept into the branches and peered through the leaves. Pip, Macie, and Cliff were carrying Streak's body into the clearing. Cliff was approaching the tree den and Toadleap felt it best to stay in the branches, he still felt horrible. "Toadleap?" Toadleap turned. Cliff was standing on the branch behind him. "Cliff?" He shouted. "How did you get up here?" "Never mind that, I just have a question for you. May I and my friends join your clan. Me and Streak have stuck together since our mother died. If he's going to be buried here, I need to join." "Of course, I'll have your ceremony at once. It's the least I could do." "Let all cats old enough to leave the island gather under the Great Oak for a clan meeting. As some of you know, four loners entered our camp. One of which has died from sickness. Another one of those loners requested to join our clan, and I shall oblige. Cliff, Pip, Macie, do you promise to uphold our code and honor it while you live with us?" "Yes." "Yep." "Uh-huh." "Then as the spirit of Streak watches over us, I give you your apprentice names. Cliff, you shall be Cliffpaw. Pip shall be Eggpaw. Macie shall be Creampaw. Cliffpaw's mentor shall be Gingerstep, Eggpaw's mentor shall be Shrewfur, and Creampaw's mentor shall be Mallowclaw. I also give an apprentice name to Cliffpaw's late brother, Streak who should be here with us. May Streakpaw rise gently into StarClan, where there are no poisonous beetles for him to eat and grown ill." Cliffpaw rested his muzzle on Toadleap's shoulder. "Thank you sir. That was beautiful." "My pleasure. You can show yourselves to the apprentice's den. Splashpaw should help you find a nest." As the meeting ended and the mass of clan cats dispersed, Toadleap passed Mossfeather. "Hey, Toadleap." He called. "What's up?" "First, I just want to say that I'm sorry about that kit. It shouldn't have been time for that little mite to die. Anyway, how was your little date with Gingerstep?" "Gingerstep?" Toadleap had forgotten about his little fight out during the walk. As soon as he remembered how Gingerstep had hurt him, he stormed away. "It was fine." "Woah, Toadleap. What's your problem?" "Nothing! I'm just stressed!" "C'mon man, I'm your brother! You can tell me anything!" "It's just she-cats, okay? They make you think they like you, but it turns out you're just friends." "So, Gingerstep doesn't like you?" "No. She likes that old scratched-up tom, Heatscar. She said she loves his stories about how he got his scars, which he changes often. What kind of ex-kittypet gets in fights with a pack of dogs, raccoons, and other cats and WINS?" "I dunno. Look I'm sorry man, I shouldn't have pushed you to try and make a move." "I mean, she's all googly-eyed over him, and he doesn't even notice. He's always got his eyes on Bluewillow even though she and Mallowclaw had Ravenstorm and Skystrike. Y'know sometimes I wish he would just go away. I'm goin' to bed." "Er... Okay. G'night." Chapter Five "Toadleap! Toadleap!" Burningpaw's spooked cries awoe Toadleap from his slumber. "M-huh, what? What's wrong?" "It's Heatscar! He's gone!" "Gone?" Toadleap smacked his head on a branch as he got up. "Argh! Whadda you mean gone?" Burningpaw led Toadleap to the warriors' den, where several cats were already gathered. Heatscar's bedding was shed and tossed all over the place. Gophertooth sniffed the moss. "Odd, no signs of a struggle. No shreds of fur, no claw marks, this moss only smells of Heatscar anyway. And did anyone hear anything? We should have felt something at the very least." "Look!" Burningpaw called from behind the crowd. "Muddy footprints!" Gophertooth smelled those as well. "Now THESE don't smell like Heatscar's. Where would a cat even get mud? It's been hot and dry for a moon and all mud should've hardened by now. And look what else!" A long divot in the grass and earth streched along with the footprints. "It looks like something's beem dragged though here. Heatscar must be in trouble. I'll send out two patrols consisting of the best trackers in the clan. Follow the scent trail until you nose feels numb, we must find him. I'll lead a patrol consisting of Titanheart, Smokestrike, Mossfeather, Shrewfur, and Whitewind. Gophertooth will lead a patrol of Mallowclaw, Cloudstorm, Thistlebelly, and Wolfsong. We both go in different directions and report back to camp at moonhigh." "What about me, Toadleap?" asked Burningpaw. "I want you to stay here with Redpoppy and check if Heatscar makes his was back to camp. If he does, I want you to go with Salmonsplash and find us." "Come on, Toadleap! called Smokestrike. "Heatscar may not have much time!" "Heatscar! Heatscar?" Toadleap called the ginger warrior's name through the trees and shrubs. "Toadleap, we've been calling his name for hours." Shrefur called tiredly. "I want to find his as much as you do, but we're exhausted. Maybe we should report back to camp." "Hold on." Titanheart sniffed the air. "Does anyone else smell carrion?" "Toadleap come quick!" "That's Thistlebelly!" Toadleap yelled. "Let's go everyone!" Toadleap raced through the trees until he scented the gray warrior's pelt. He also scented the carrion Titanheart had mentioned, and the scent only grew as they came closer to Gophertooth patrol. "Thistlebelly! What's wrong?" Toadleap tapped histail on the thick gray tom's shoulder, but Thistlebelly only stared at the ground in horror. Toadleap joined him and nearly fainted at the sight. On the ground, was Heatscar's dead body. There was a large gash from the base of his neck to the bottom of his belly. There was also a huge gash on his neck,that must've been what killed him. "Wait just a minute." Whitewind examined the gash on Heatscar's stomach. "Toadleap, did you happen to examine Grayspeck's body the night of the murder? There was a gash from his neck to his gut on his body too." "So, you think... The red tom murdered Heatscar too?" "Now hold on just a second." said Mossfeather. "Gophertooth, you and your patrol take Heatscar's body to camp. This needs to be a conversation between just this patrol." As Gophertooth's patrol left with the body, Mossfeather began. "Why did you do it, Toadleap?" "Do what?" "Why did you kill Heatscar?" "What?" Toadleap was just as surprised as the rest of the patrol. "Earlier today, you said you wished Heatscar would just go away so you and Gingerstep could become mates. Did you kill him so you could get the upper hand?" "How dare you accuse me, Mossfeather! I said I wished he would leave for a while not that he would die!" "Yeah. And you seem a bi quick to accuse Toadleap." called Shrewfur. "How do we know you didn't kill him?" "Shrewfur, I have a mate pregnant with my kits in the nursery right now. Do you really think I would do something to get us thrown back into the Twolegplace where we can eat garbage until we all starve? What motive would I have for killing him anyway?" "Mossfeather has a point." Smokestrike retorted. "It just so happens that you said you wanted Heatscar gone only hours before his murder?" "I can't deny Smokestrike's evidence." said Titanheart. "I'm sorry, Toadleap, but you're the prime suspect now." "Wow. I can't believe my deputy AND my best friend would accuse me of murdering one of my warriors. I feel so hurt right now." "It doesn't matter if he's your friend or not, it all just falls into place! And if you kill one cat, you're bound to kill another. Did you murder Grayspeck?" "Do you not remember that I was asleep when he was killed? Do you also forget that I was the first cat to take action the night he died?" "Still, it matches up too well. Just confess, Toadleap!" "If I did murder Grayspeck, do you think I would've gone through all the trouble I already have to find the killer? I've done more work than your own best friend and the only witness! Where's Firebird now, sleeping? Slurping down mouse by mouse while he just sticks to nest in the warriors' den? Did he even get up when we called these patrols? Maybe he's the killer! Maybe we should scream at him in the woods!" "Now you shut up you son of a-!" "BOTH OF YOU,SHUT IT!" Shrewfur had completely lost his temper at this point. He drew his enraged gaze over to Toadleap. "Now you, you have no reason to accuse Firebird of anything!" "That's what I've been saying!" Whitewind retorted. "And you! You have no reason to be at your own leader's throat. If I was leader and you threw an outburst like that at me, I'd have no problem throwing your white pelt right outta' this forest! And stop accusing! We all know very well that Toadleap didn't do it, or Mossfeather, but what about you Whitewind? You were rather quick to accuse as well. We don't know if you're hiding anything from us, but we aren't gonna find out. For all we know a fox got to him. And until we get more evidence, that's his cause of death. End of story." Shrewfur padded away. "And where do you think you're going? Back to camp? Hah!" yelled Titanheart. "Besides that little outburst, you haven't said much other than trying to back up Toadleap. Are you working with him on the murder?" Shrewfur stopped dead in his tracks, turned, and sprinted full-speed at Titanheart, bowling him over. The two toms began clawing at eachother as if the other cat were a badger. "WHAT DID I SAY ABOUT ACCUSING, HUH? WHAT DID I SAY?" Shrewfur screamed. "SHREWFUR! GET OFF OF HIM! YOU'RE LOSING IT! BOTH OF YOU, I WANT YOU BACK TO CAMP AND IN THE WARRIORS' DEN, NOW!" Toadleap began screaming himself. "WE'RE ALL LOSING IT! CAN'T YOU SEE?" Shrewfur continued, but calmed down a bit and stopped yelling. "This killer has officially broken us! Oh he's one one sly carrion-eater, all right. He's turned the six of us frm best friends into six hungry wolves fighting over the same thrush. If we can't work together, this clan is as well as dead. The killer will pick us off one my one until we all go insane!" "Y-Yeah." Toadleap couldn't believe he had raised his voice that loud. "We need to just face facts, none of us killed Grayspeck or Heatscar. And if we don't find out who did it, you can just call me Toad and get me another collar because StarClan made the wrong choice." Smokestrike gasped. "You'd disapprove of StarClan's judgement?" "I don't know. I don't know anything anymore. We're best friends who were about to kill eachother. I'm probably only going to get a mate because her crush got his throat split, I'm probably the only leader whose partially caused the death of a kit, and that killer is still out there! Well I want you to know something, Whitewind, I am the cat who will not sleep, eat, or drink until this case is solved." Chapter Six "Anything yet, Titanheart?" "Still nothing. Man, I'm hungry, but I took an oath." Toadleap felt for his deputy. He was just as hungry, but as he had said in the woods he wouldn't eat or sleep until he solved the case. That was two days ago, Toadleap hadn't even been near his den as he thought it would be too tempting. Each cat on that patrol had agreed to take turns on patrols through the forest and Twolegplace in search of the murderer. Toadleap could feel bags under his eyes and felt as if his legs would break off if he took another step. "You and he others are really sticking to this oath." "Well, we wouldn't say no to our leader, but there's only so many travelling herbs Rockshine can give us until they don't even take effect. I don't know if I can take." "Alright, let's go back to camp. Look, I'm hungry too but we must stick it out, it clears our minds and gives us a reason to work." "Yeah, but if we don't find that cat soon, we're gonna starve to death. "If it comes to that, then our oath'll have to change." At camp, Toadleap was preparing the next patrol of Whitewind and Shrewfur, but he couldn't find Shrewfur. Hey Chesnutpelt!" He called to Shrewfur's mate. "Have you seen Shrewfur?" "The last I saw him he went to the warriors' den after he visited Emeraldgaze's kits in the nursery." "Emeraldgaze kitted?" "Yeah. You've been so busy in these extra patrols you must've missed it. Mossfeather was lucky to have been here. There names are Frogkit, after you, Lichenkit, because he looks like Mossfeather, and Sliverkit due to the flecks on his pelt. All toms." "Thank you, I'll be sure to visit them while Shrewfur's on patrol." Toadleap approached the warriors' den, something was off about it though. The thick branches that usually parted to form the entrance were draped and covered and the entrance was blocked by the leaves. Toadleap rattled some of the branches. "Shrewfur? You in here?" "What? Uh... Yeah! Don't come in!" "What are you doing?" "Nothing! I'l be out in a minute!" Toadleap peeked in on Shrewfur, who was crouched in the corner. Toadleap gasped when he saw what the red-brown tom was doing. In Shrewfur's paws layed a half-eaten duck. Part of the bird's meat dangled out of Shrewfur's mouth as he turned to see Toadleap. "How could you! We took an oath!" "Screw the oath, Toadleap! I can hardly get up I've got no energy!" "In that case, gimme that duck!" "No! I caught it!" Shrewfur sprinted front the den into the clearing. Toadleap pounced on top of him and began to gnaw at the duck's neck. The two cats pulled and pulled until the neck of the bird came completely off. Toadleap scarfed down the rest of the meat on the neck. He soon found himself on the bottom of a pile-up with Shrewfur as Whitewind, Smokestrike, Titanheart, and Mossfeather lept on top of them trying to reach the bird. "Stop it! All of you!" The yowl came from Burstblaze, who with the help of Aquaeyes and Robinwillow, pulled the cats off of eachother. The duck was nothing more than bones. Someone had even tried eating the bill. "I know you six want to keep your oath, but you need to eat. I want another warrior to go with you to make sure you all get some food in you. Gingerstep could you go with Toadleap." While Toadleap really didn't feel like going to the warriors' den alone with Gingerstep, but he was so hungry he didn't care. He grabbed a vole from the fresh-kill pile and sat down in a mossy bed. He found the one Shrefur had been eating in the most comfortable as he hadn't slept in the warriors' den once. As he ate, Gingerstep began to speak. "Toadleap, I was wondering, when I mentionedI had a crush on Heatscar why did you get so mad?" "Uh..." Toadleap felt too afraid to speak. "I dunno." "C'mon, tell me. You know you can." Toadleap sighed. "Okay, you got me. I've been wanting to tell you this for a long time." He scooted closer to her. He could feel her soft ginger pelt rub against his brown pelt. "Gingerstep, I got got angry when you said you liked Heatscar because I wished it would be me." "What?" "Gingerstep, nothing can explain the amount of feeling I have for you. You are simply one of the most beautiful cats I've ever met, even more than Aquaeyes. Plus, your kind, sweet, tough, funny, smart, and so many more things I can't even name. So I-" "Before you go any further, I just want to say. Yes." "Y-Yes what?" "Yes I will be your mate. I liked Heatscar only because he was tough, but you, you're funny, cute, nice, determined, brave, and smart. And I think you're the tom for me." "No- NO WAY! GINGERSTEP'S MY MATE!" Toadleap sprinted out of the warriors' den with the speed of a monster. "LISTEN UP WORLD! GINGERSTEP IS MY MATE!!!" Toadleap scremed so loud Soaringpaw had to cover her ears from pain. Mossfeater ran up to him and body-slammed him into the ground. "You did it! Congrats bro!" Toadleap was also greeted by a friendly dog-pile from all of his friends, so a LOT of cats. Gingerstep padded out and was greeted by nearly all the she-cats in the clan. The ginger she-cat padded out of the crowd, walked up to Toadleap, and licked him on the ear. "I love you, Toadleap. Remember that." She smiled and padded away. Toadleap felt as if he could faint with joy. "This calls for celebration!" called Smokestrike. "Let us venture into the woods and catch ourselves a FEAST!" Chapter Seven "That's another rabbit. This feast will be fantastic!" The patrol had caught enough prey to feed the entire clan and then some. Toadleap was glad to see that Whitewind tried the hardest as an apology for the fight in the woods. "Well, what else can you smell Shrewfur?" asked Smokestrike. Shrewfur sniffed the air. "Um... There's a vole nest a few fox-lengths to the right, there's a rabbit hopping along the ShadowClan border, a deer passed through here lately, and... hold on... I smell Twolegplace." Toadleap inhaled. It did smell like garbage and monsters. He signaled Smokestrike and Titanheart to push forward through the undergrowth. Who they saw they hadn't seen in quite some time. Walking through the trees with a rabbit in his mouth was Dagger, ex-leader of the rogues. Toadlep pounced on Dagger when the time seemed right. "Argh! Get off me you... YOU!" "Miss me, Dagger?" "Get offa' me, clan cat! I've been looing for you, I want revenge for when you attacked my gang! I may be outnumbered, but I can call Bloodstar and his warriors to back me up!" "Bloodstar, I've heard you mention that name before." "Yeah, his red pelt is stained with the blood of stupid cats like you!" "Hold on, red pelt? Bloodstar is Red!" Toadleap turned to his patrol. "This Bloodstar cat is the spy! He must be the red guy Cliffpaw talked about!" He looked at Dagger. "You, tell us about this Bloodstar. Now." "As if I'm gonna tell you anything!" "Tell us, or my bed get lined with brown fur." "I ain't tellin' you jack!" "Fine then, Smokestrike, help me get him back to camp." "Yessir." Toadleap and Smokestrike grabbed Dagger by the scruff like a kit and drug him all the way to a secluded part of the island. Bugstrike came along to help with the interrogation. Toadleap started by unsheathing his claws. He would need to get answers out of Dagger by force. "Now, tell me about Bloodstar." "No." "Fine." Toadleap slashed Dagger on the cheek, removing some of the fur. "Ow! You jerk!" "Tell me about Bloodstar." "NO." Toadleap clawed Dagger across the eye, it left a scar and Dagger shut the eye with another flinch of pain. "Tell me about Bloodstar!" Dagger responded by spitting straight in Toadleap's face. He was about to claw the daylights out of him, when Shrewfur interupted. "I have an idea, Toadleap. Take him over to the tree-bridge." Toadleap dragged Dagger across camp and onto the tree-bridge. "Now hold him over the water." Toadleap picked up Dagger by the scruff and dangled him over the lake. "Hold on! I can't swim!" "The you'd better tell us about Bloodstar." said Shrewfur. "Never! You're a bunch of monsters!" "Loosen your grip, Toadleap." Toadleap parted his jaws a little bit until Dagger began to squim. "NOW. TELL US ABOUT BLOODSTAR OR YOU'RE GOING IN!" "Okay! Okay! I'll talk, but for God's sake put me back on land!" Toadleap dropped Dagger's scruff while his feet were on the tree-bridge. The brown tom wobbled as he stood up. "Thanks for the hospitality." He glared at Toadleap. "Anyway, Bloodstar is a rogue known throughout the Twolegplace as the cat who copied the life of a clan almost perfectly. He and his warriors have been training for months, and they're coming for you." "What? Why? What beef would we have with him?" stated Bugstrike. "I lived with you and your gang for almost a season and never heard anything about this Bloodstar." "Besides that, where could we find Bloodstar?" asked Toadleap. "I dunno. He's always moving around the Twolegplace. Even his own warriors have to find him. That's all I know I swear." "Hey, Toadleap." Toadleap turned, at the foot of the tree-bridge sat Firebird. "It's you!" He called. "You're finally out of the warriors' den!" "Yeah, well... Could you come with me for a moment, it's really important." Toadleap followed Firebird farther away from camp and into the forest. Firebird looked around, as if to see if anyone was watching. "Please make this quick, Firebird. We're almost close to cracking the case to Grayspeck's murder." "Yeah, I wanted to get that thing off of my chest. I felt it best to tell you first." "Fair enough, lay it on me." Firbird sighed, and looked as if he braced himself. "It was me." "What?" "I'm the cat who murdered Grayspeck. It's all my fault." Toadleap gasped. Firebird had been the killer this whole time, the one cat nobody expected. "Firebird, I could throw you into the lake right now. It's a fitting punishment." "No! Toadleap, you don't understand! I did it to help the clans!" "How could killing the ShadowClan deputy help the clans?" "Well, the night of the murder was the night you put me on the night watch. I ever noticed he went out for a walk so when he came back I thought he was an intruder, and I attacked. When I figured out he was Grayspeck, I called for help. You know the rest. So now that you know, what are you gonna do to me?" "Well, you certainly did a bad thing, but you did it to protect your clan over all else. You can stay, but you must make sure nobody finds out about this. If the do, you're out of here. Got it?" "Thank you sir!" Firebird scampered back into the warriors' den and Toadleap returned to the tree-bridge. "You're back." called Smokestrike. "What did Firebird want?" "Nothing. Look, we have all the information we need, so if Titanheart and Mossfeather could escort Dagger back to the Twolegplace that would be great." As the three cats left, Smokestrike approached Toadleap. "Did you hear, Toadleap? Bloodstar's coming for us." "I heard. I don't know what we should do. Other than fight that is." "Well, if he knows we camp at the island, what if we throw him off." "What? How?" "We pull off the big move to the camps." Chapter Eight "Let all cats on the island gather under the Great Oak for a manditory clan meeting!" Toadleap yowled down to the crowd of cats. "Today we make a large and life-changing decision, today we choose our clans and move to the territories. Choose what clan you want to join or are best fit for. Votes are cast at sundown. Meeting dismissed." Each cat turned to one another and began to discuss what clan they would join. Toadleap decided to butt-in on one of the convesations. He chose Redpoppy and Salmonsplash. "Hey you two, have you decided on what clan to join?" "Yes." Redpoppy stated sadly. "But its only caused problems. I'm long-legged and slender so WindClan would be an obvious choice for me." Salmonsplash joned in. Yeah and my glossy pelt and large paws make me prime for swimming, so RiverClan would have to be my choice. I'm just not built to be a WindClan cat." "Oh dear. Have you told the kits yet?" "Yes, and that's caused problems as well. Y'see, Burningpw and Soaringpaw are built like me, slender and quick, while Splashpaw is built more like his father, thick-furred and stocky. Our entire family will need to split up. But me and Salmonsplash think it's for the best." "We'll always be mates in heart though." Hours passed, and eventually the sun was only peeking over the trees. It was time. Toadleap stood in the center of the island. "Cats of the clans, now is the time to make the choice of what clan you shall join. Please stand behind the leader of the clan you wish to join." Each cat took their place behind one of the five leaders until there was only on lone cat left in the clearing, Spiderstorm. "C'mon, Spiderstorm." called Robinwillow. "Come with me." Spiderstorm looked angrily at her mother. "No. I'm joining FireClan." The black she-cat padded over to Toadleap. Robinwillow looked surprised. "Well... Alright then. If your sister can join ShadowClan to be with Branchtail, you can be in FireClan." The five leaders walked toward eachother. The other leaders said goodbye to Toadleap. "It's been an adventure, kittypet." said Smokestrike. "I guess you wont be around to stop me from eating my own dirt now, huh? I've just been waiting to pig out at the dirtplace." Burstblaze snickered, and RiverClan and ThunderClan left. Aquaeyes came next. "It's been a pleasure, Toadleap. You're a great cat with a big heart, and you better not change. Take care of yourself." Robinwillow was the last of the leaders to say goodbye. Instead of just saying goodbye, Robinwillow dug her muzzle into Toadleap's shoulder and began to sob. "Woah, Robinwillow." said Toadleap. "I'm not dying!" "I'd hope not. I'm just sad that I have to leave a friend as good as you." Robinwillow lowered her voice. "And thanks for keeping my secret." "Don't worry, I'll take care of Spiderstorm for you." "Thank you, Toadleap. Let's go WindClan." WindClan and ShadowClan left, leaving FireClan the only cats in the clearing. "Welp, I suppose It's time for us to go. But I'll do rolecall first. Let's see... Titanheart, Tawnysoul, Heavypelt, Gingerstep, Cliffpaw, Shrewfur, Chesnutpelt, Mossfeather, Emeraldgaze, Sliverkit, Frogkit, Lichenkit, Sparkpelt, Thistlebelly, Bramblefoot, Rocketblaze, Wolfsong, Tangledwhisker, Thushfeather, Spiderstorm, and... Hold on, who are you?" Sitting next to Spiderstorm was a large tom with a red pelt. No one noticed the tom pad up to them. Even Spiderstorm changed her usual grumpy expression to shocked as she looked to her left. The tom stayed silent. "Excuse me, Who. Are. You?" The tom grinned. "You'll find out soon enough." The tom slowly padded away toward the tree-bridge but halted at the foot of it. "Beware the cat who bears blood on his pelt." The tom then broke into a sprint. "It's Bloodstar! We must follow him!" Toadleap chased after Bloodstar with his entire clan behind him. The tom was surprisingly fast and passed through the trees with ease. FireClan followed Bloodstar all the way to the Twolegplace. The tom lept up onto a garbage can and jumped over a fence. "Wait!" Heavypelt pushed his way toward Toadleap. "We'd better not jump that fence, there's a dog as big as a pony over there. You've gotta have reflexes like a rabbit to get past him." Toadleap grunted. "We almost had him! Well, lt's just make it to camp, I wont risk any of the warriors with that dog." "Ah," Shrewfur sighed. "Camp Sweet Camp!" "I'm not so sure I'd call this that sweet." Wolfsong picked up globs of dirt and scattered leaves in his paw. "We haven't been here in what, a week? My pelt doesn't even get this dirty this fast." Toadleap scuffed some dirt off of his paw by scratching it against a stone. "You're right, Wolfstep. Shrewfur, if you and Titanheart could pick up a couple leaves, cobwebs or any random stuff that might be in the leader's den, it's in the grassy portion of camp." Shrewfur and Titanheart padded away toward the small cave in a rock face that was the leader's den. Toadleap made decisions on where the dens would go. "Hm... Now this bush is larger so it can be the warriors' den, this one's smaller so it can be the apprentice's den, I suppose Tawnysoul can put hs herbs in that cave for now, and maybe-" "Toadleap!" Titanheart called from leader's den. "You'd better come see this!" Toadleap made his way into the cave and padded over to his deputy. He and Shrewfur had ther eyes fixated on the ground. Toadleap looked at the ground and gasped. In the middle of the cave was a small moss bed. On the moss bed was a dead toad, it's gut was entirely split open. But what terrified Toadleap the most, was the fact that both on the toad and the moss, was a few scraps of red fur. The End! (But stay tuned for the Arc 2 Finale, Warriors Flaming Legacies: Extinguished!) Category:FireClan's Stories Category:Warriors Flaming Legacies